Page 45 of Of Flames and Fallacies

I slid down the trash chute, out of the castle, and ran south. I knew if I made it past the gate, I had a better chance at making it back to the Dragon Lands.

I never dared looking behind me to see if anyone was following me as I ran through the shadowed streets of Arterias. There wasn’t a spare moment I could afford.

The gods had been smiling on me because I managed to make it through the rest of Arterias without much attention.

Arterias faded behind me, and the outskirts of Brookvale appeared out of a fog. I collapsed in the thickest part of the woods. I wasn’t sure my legs could carry me another step and if my lungs would ever catch a solid breath. But when I finally willed myself with my last bit of strength, I pulled myself up a tree. I spent the night on my back, draped over a branch highup. The last thing I saw was the starry night sky through the gaps of leaves above me.

It reminded me of home.

I close the journal and gaze up at my tattered ceiling. Clouds skitter across the last streaks of a dark orange and purple sky. The light in my room fades to darkness.

Oddly enough, the vision of a star studded sky comforts me in a way I can’t comprehend. Perhaps part of it was because it’s the same sky I’ve slept under for the last few months. The same sky my father slept under.

I slip out later in the night to visit Daeja. Each step further into the forest pulls an invisible string rooted deep within my chest, guiding me to the thicket of trees I last saw her near. A smile warms my face as I make out her glowing white eyes in the depths of the cave.

She bounces toward me in excitement, leaving the shadows of the cave behind and stepping into the moonlight. Rolling her shoulders back, her nose flares in pride. “I caught a chicken.”

I pause mid-step, tilting my head in confusion. “What? How could you possibly catch a—”

Something limp dangles from her mouth. Gingerly, I lift her prey’s head to confirm.

Aduck.

I erupt into a giggle, imagining a dragon her size chasing after a duck. I pat Daeja’s thick neck. “That’s umm...not a chicken.”

She blinks. “Not a chicken?”

“Not a chicken.”

Perhaps I should have been more direct about what a chicken looks like, as a simple descriptor of feathered wings wasn’t quite specific enough.

Daeja’s wings lower slightly in disappointment, but she still sucks the limp duck into her mouth and swallows it in one gulp. Her grimace hints it wasn’t quite what she had been expecting.

I glance toward the lake glittering off in the distance between gaps of trees. “I’m not sure how long we will stay here yet. But you have to be careful, it’s dangerous out here.”

“Why?”

“Well...because humans can be dangerous for dragons.”

“What’s a human?”

“People like me that walk on two legs.”

She tilts her head to the side. “But you aren’t dangerous?”

Her innocence lifts my lips into a sad smile. I rub a hand on her cheek and down her neck. “If you see someone on two legs, other than me, promise me you’ll hide and stay quiet?”

I double tap two fingers against the column of her neck, expecting her to vanish from view. But nothing happens. I try again with no success and drag my gaze up to her face. “Are you not able to disappear anymore?”

She squeezes her eyes shut, nostrils flaring, and body tense. She peeks open an eye, staring directly at me.

I snort.“I can still see you.”

A defeated exhale relaxes her body.

Damn. There goes that idea.

“That’s okay, keep practicing. I have to get back to camp, but I’ll come see you tomorrow. Make sure you’re sticking to the shadows and keeping a low profile—”

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